LONESOME PINE BEVERAGES

The Lonesome Pine Beverages line was created around 1941(3) by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Norton, VA, also known as the Kline Corporation, which would eventually call itself the Lonesome Pine Beverage Corporation. The name comes from what could arguably be called Wise County's most famous claim to fame, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine which was originally a book by former Big Stone Gap resident John Fox, Jr.(1) The story was turned into three films, including a silent picture in 1914, another in 1923, and the latest in 1938.(1) The town of Big Stone Gap still stages an outdoor drama based upon the popular book, so with the name so ingrained in the local culture it's no wonder they chose it for their product. The brand was a private flavor line that would be uninteresting if it wasn't for the fact of its longevity, and the amount of variations in the bottles due to size, color, town, or type. Having started in 1941, I actually wonder if this brand started out as a paper label bottle; however, at this writing I know of no specimens, and the earliest acls appear to be from the late 1940's.

The earliest acl bottles known appear to be 7oz bottles, which would eventually be increased to 10oz bottles not too long afterward. The 10oz would become the standard size for the brand for the rest of its life. Other bottlers carried the brand as well including the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Vansant, VA, which was a branch plant for the Norton Company, St. Paul Coca-Cola Bottling Company of St. Paul, VA, and strangest of all is the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Whitesburg, KY. I have it on good authority that when W. P. Armistead sold the company to Coca-Cola Consolidated of Charlotte, NC in 1982, he continued to bottle the line for distribution in the Christiansburg, VA area due to a "non-compete" agreement.(2)

The brand was finally trademarked on August 11, 1987(3), and the trademark was reregistered for an updated design on July 12, 1988(3). It appears that the brand is still trademarked in 1994; however, the trademark is now listed as dead.(3) As stated before the brand originally appears to have been in a 7oz size bottle; however, the 10oz versions are more common. There is an 8 3/4 oz and a 9 oz from St. Paul, VA, and an 11oz from Vansant, VA, pictures of which can be seen on the site, which also appears to have been the only plant that actually used a true green Lonesome Pine bottle. The final bottle types for Lonesome Pine Beverages were foam label No Deposit-No Return bottles, part of the correspondence of July 1994 with the Trademark office featured a new specimen which instead of having the flavor listed on the bottle was more of a generic design with the trademarked logo.

The second location for the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Norton, VA. This was would have been the location of the company when they created the Lonesome Pine Beverages line, it is also the address given on the trademark registrations from 1987-88.

The later location of the Lonesome Pine Coca Cola Bottling Company of Norton, VA. Apparently the brand was selling so well for the company that they named the company after it.

The building that once housed the St. Paul Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

7oz Lonesome Pine Beverages Bottle from St. Paul, VA undated

From the collection of Christopher A. Weide, photo by Christopher A. Weide

This is the oddest size of a Lonesome Pine bottle an 11oz Lonesome Pine Beverages bottle from Vansant, VA dated 1953.

8 3/4 oz Lonesome Pine Beverages Bottle from St. Paul, VA dated 1954

Lonesome Pine Grape soda cap

Lonesome Pine Beverages bottles from St. Paul, VA, the 9 oz on the left is dated 1963 while the 10 oz on the right is dated 1970. This is the oddest variation of these bottles with the main label not using the tree motif at all, while other bottles from the same era all do. I would love to hear the story behind this decision.